National poverty alleviation office, DTI, GCash encourage grassroots entrepreneurship through MSME webinar

(L-R) Office of the Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation (OPAPA) moderator Aggie Tuason and GCash customer success partnerships manager Joseph “Chippy” Dimayuga

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation (OPAPA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and over 100 small business founders—working in cooperation with leading mobile finance app GCash—recently concluded Sumakses!, a three-part weekly webinar series. Designed to empower Filipinos to start their own business and take control of their financial future, the series brought together government, industry, and community voices in support of inclusive entrepreneurship.

Streamed on OPAPA’s official Facebook page, Sumakses! features real-life case studies from micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) founders, many of whom began their businesses using limited resources. Each episode is followed by a financial literacy segment designed to equip viewers with practical tools and insights to help entrepreneur sustain their ventures and improve long-term economic resilience.

The series featured over 100 successful small business founders, many of whom have already scaled into small factories from their humble beginnings as home businesses. The success stories enlighten viewers not only on how to jumpstart their ideas but also how they sustained them with small business solutions and wealth-building tools such as GCash for Business.

Behind the series was the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation (OPAPA), established by the Office of the President to lead the coordination and strengthening of national poverty reduction efforts. With a mandate to craft and oversee strategic, multi-sectoral programs, OPAPA focuses on uplifting poor and marginalized Filipinos through grassroots empowerment, inclusive economic development, and sustainable livelihood.

OPAPA’s goal is to champion long-term solutions, shifting away from charity schemes but rather toward programs that foster self-reliance and entrepreneurship. Its advocacy centers on equipping Filipinos with the tools, opportunities, and agency to rise out of poverty through meaningful work, financial inclusion, and enterprise.

“Poverty alleviation must begin at the grassroots level,” said OPAPA Secretary Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon. “We believe in equipping Filipinos not just with livelihood but with lasting capability, and we welcome the contributions of MSME founders to this effort.”

The initiative addresses a vital segment of the economy. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, MSMEs account for 99.5% of registered businesses in the Philippines and employ over 63% of the workforce. Yet despite their prevalence, many MSMEs face barriers to digital adoption and financial education, particularly in rural areas and among first-time entrepreneurs.

GCash contributed to the program through a weekly financial literacy segment hosted by Joseph “Chippy” Dimayuga, GCash customer success partnerships manager. In his segment, Dimayuga talks about accessible finance tools such as GLoan, GSave and GInvest, as well as GCash for Business, a suite of digital solutions tailored to MSMEs with minimal capital.

“With a proper business mindset, it can be simple to earn money, but keeping that hard-earned income is where the real challenge begins,” said GCash customer success partnerships manager Joseph Dimayuga. “We want to help aspiring entrepreneurs not just discover ways to make money, but also learn how to manage it wisely, grow it sustainably, and protect it for the long haul. Financial literacy is the foundation that allows small business owners to turn a good idea into lasting success.”

By combining entrepreneurial storytelling with inclusive financial education, Sumakses! offers a practical roadmap for ordinary Filipinos to rise above poverty through sustainable business ownership.

GCash is the Philippines’ #1 Finance Super App and Largest Cashless Ecosystem. Through the GCash App, users can easily purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills via partner billers nationwide; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts; purchase from over 6 million partner merchants and social sellers; and get access to savings, credit, loans, insurance and invest money, and so much more, all at the convenience of their smartphones. Its mobile wallet operations are handled by G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt, the first and only $5 billion unicorn in the Philippines.

GCash is a staunch supporter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly UN SDGs 5,8,10, and 13, which focus on safety & security, financial inclusion, diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, respectively.